William akin



-(No Mqdel.) 3 Sheets-Sheet L.

W. AKIN. Automatic Advertising Device.

No. 239,593. Patented Aprifl 5, fl88fl.

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A W. AKIN.

Automatic Advertising Device. No. 239,593. Patented April 5,, ii.

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W. AKIN.

Automatic Advertising Device. No. 239,593. Patented April 5,1l88fl.

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VVILLlAM AKLN, UF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AUTUMATEG ADVERTIlSlNG DEVHGE.

srscrrrcn'rron" forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,593, dated April 5, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM AKIN, of the city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented an Improved Automatic AdvertisingDevice; and-l do hereby declare that the following, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved mechanism for successively exhibiting a number of cards or advertisements in a clock-case exten- I is brought to the front; An elevator which is operated by the auxiliary movement picks up the cardwhich. was last dropped and carries it upward, and delivers it in rear of' the whole number of cards at the instant the next card drops, thus successively bringing each card to the front, dropping it, and elevating it in rear of the whole number of cards. The wholeis controlled by the clock-movement, as hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved clock. Fig. 2 is a similar View with a portion of the front broken away. Fig. 3 is a side elevation from the left-hand side of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front view, enlarged, showing the shelf or platform for the cards, and the elevator. Fig. 5 is a transverse section through Fig. 4 showin galso'an enlarged'section of the tilti rig shelf. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are enlarged detail views of the hoisting-wheel and drum. Fig. 9 shows the hoisting-wheel and the clutch. Figs; 10 and 11 showthe manner of constructing the advertising-cards. V

Let A represent an ordinary clock-case, having the extension 18. The extension B, 1 divide into an upper and lower compartment. The upper compartment, 0, has a glass front, behind which the cards or advertisements are placed and exhibited. The lower compartment receives the cards when they are dropped i be seen.

Application filed August, 1580. (No model.)

. from the upper compartment, and an elevator,

which is operated by the auxiliary clock-movement, picks up the card and carries it up to and delivers it upon the shelf or floorD of the upper compartment, behind all the other cards on the shelf. The lower compartment has an opaque front, so that nothing inside of it can The front end of this shelf or floor is supported on hollow trunnionsor journals a a, which bear in the walls of the extensioncase B, while its rear corners are supported by pins 1), which bear in the lower end of a curved slot in the walls of the case, so that the rear end can be raised or agitated, as hereinafter described. The upper surface of the shelf is slightly inclined toward the front,

to facilitate the movement of the cards to the front when the rear end of the shelf is raised or shaken. The cards stand upon this shelf, as stated, one behind the other, with their faces or printed sides outward, so that the foremost card is always seen through the glass front.

The shelf has a recess cut in its front edge, in which a block,f, is fitted. This block is fixed upon a rod, 6, which passes through the hollow trunnion a. on one side, and into the hollow trunnion on the opposite side, and. it' .has a lip, i, formed on it nearly opposite the lower edge-of the shelf, upon which lip the lower edge of the foremost card will always drop and'rest when the rear edge of the shelf is raised or agitated. This block also has a recess, g, cut in its upper side, near its middle, leaving a thin strip, 0, connecting the upper edges of the recess. A plate, j, the outer edge of which turns up so as to project slightly above the front edge of the shelf, is connected with this thin strip, so that when the rod c is turned forwardthelip iof theolocllrf ismoved' downward, so as to drop the card which rests upon it into the underneath compartment, and at the same time the projecting edge of the plate j isprojected upward between the foremost card and the one just behind it, allowing the front card only to move forward and drop upon thelip t. The card which drops into the underneath compartment falls and rests upon IOO 2 I asasee' of the rode, so that when the weight of the card rests upon the ends of the levers E E tlie levers are depressed so as to turn the shaft F slightly, and, through the arms G m and connecting-rod Z, turn the shaft e, so as to raise the'lip t into position to receive and .support thenext card. The same movement also .projects this plate j upward between the front card and theone next behind it, so as to keep them from pressing'forward against it. A spring, a, acting upon the arm G, turns the two shafts F and 6 so as to raise the levers E E and depress the lip i and plate j when no card is resting upon the levers. It will thus be seen that I utilize the weight of the card which drops from the upper to the lower compartment for supporting the next card on the lip t, and keep in the rear cards from pressing upon the one in front, and that the instant the weight of the card is removed from .the levers'another card will be dropped from the upper compartment to take its place.

The device which I use for picking up the cards in the lower compartment and carrying them up and depositing them-on the shelf in the upper compartment I call an elevator. This elevator is operated intermittingly by an auxiliary movement or engine, which is placed below and connected with, the clock-movement, so that at regular intervals the elevator is made to pick up and carry the card from the lower to the upper compartment.

The auxiliary power consists of two strong springs, I I, which are mounted in a frame, and connected with a train of gears, so that the power of the two springs is transmitted to a common shaft, J, on the front end of which is secured a plain wheel, L. 0n the rim of this wheel is a projection, 0, which engages with a springdatch, q, that projects from the frame of the engine or auxiliary power, so that when the springs are wound up the latch will prevent the wheel from moving and the strain of the springs is thrown on the wheel; but when the latch is drawn upward to a certain point the projection 10 slips past it, and the wheel makes a single revolution until the projection comes around and strikes the latch again.

On the minute-shaft ot the clock-movement I secure a wheel, R, the rim of which is formed into ratchet-teeth of any desired number. A

lever, M, has one end pivoted to the frame of the movement so that the lever passes directly across the frame, so that it rests upon the rim of the wheel B. 'On the under side of this lever Iform a raking-tooth, 4", which corresponds with the ratchet-teeth, only it inclines in the opposite direction. This tooth rides upon the ratchet-teeth, so that the lever M is raised by each ratchet-tooth in succession as it passes underneath it and dropped from its point to the base of the next tooth, the time of its A rod, 1, connects movementbeing regulated by the length of the ratchet-teeth. The outer end of the lever M is connected, by a rod, .9, with the springlatch g on the en gine-frame, so that every time the lever M is raised by a ratchet-tooth the latch q is drawn and the wheel L makes one revolution, as before described.

On the shaft J, just behind the wheel L, I place 'a loose pulley, N. This pulley has a pin, 8', projecting, from its front side, near its periphery,..,andthis pip strikes a latch, t, on

the wheel L, so as to carry the wheel L around with the pulley N. The latch t is just in front of the spring-latch q, and its lower end projects down below the rim of the wheel L, so as to be lifted by an inclined projection, u, on

the spring-latch frame heretofore mentionedjust before the wheel L is stopped by its pro jection 11. When the latch u'is lifted the pin 8 is permitted to pass by it, thus allowing the loose pulley to rotate backward until its pin 8 again strikes the latch tin its first position. A slide, P, or elevator is arranged to travel up and down in a groove in the back of. the

extension-case B, andserves to pick up the cards in the lower compartment and carry and deposit them on the shelf above. A cord, 71, connects this elevator with the loose pulley N, so that every time the lever M is raised by a ratchet-tooth on the wheel R of the clockmovement thespring-latch q is raised and the wheel L makesa rotation, carrying the loose pulley N with it and raising the elevator or slide fromthe lower to the upper compartment behind the series of cards which stand on the shelf.

A shaft, R,'passes across the upperpart of the extension-case in rear of the elevatorguides, and an arm or lever, T, projects forward from this shaft directly above the elevator, so that when the elevator has been suddenlydrawn upward by the pulley N it will strike the arm just as it reaches its highest point. A spring, a, is coiled around this shaft and has one end fastened to it, while the other end is securedin the cross-beam in front of it, so that when the outer end of the arm T-is raised the shaft rotates slightly and winds the spring. The reaction of the spring then forces the elevator down again the instant the latch t on the wheel L is lifted, so as to release the loose pulley and allow it to rotate backward, thus sending the elevator down again.

An arm, I), is secured to the end of the shaft It outside of the clock-case, and this arm is connected by a rod, 0, with the projecting pin b, which supports the rear end of the shelf D, so that every time the elevator strikes the arm T and partially rotates the shaft R the rear end of the shelf will be raised so as to move' the cards which rest upon it down toward the front edge of the shelf.

The lower end of the elevator or slide is made flexible and is bent forward, so that when the elevator falls this lower end will pass under the card which rests upon the levers E E in the lower compartment. To facilitate the passage of the flexible lower end of the elevator underneath the card I make an incline, d, at the lower end of the elevator ways or guides by which the lower end of the elevator is directed, and I also mount a roller, 6, directly under the card, one side of which is heavier than the other, so that it will always hang with its heavy side down. On the upper edge of this weighted roller I make a longitudinal rib,f, against which the lower edge of the -card will press when its side edges rest upon the levers E E. When the elevator descends its lower edge, guided by the incline d, will strike the ribf of this roller and press it down so as to give sufficient space for the curved part of the elevator to pass under the lower edge of the card.

At the lower end of the elevator I secure one or more ledges, hooks, or other projections, g, which will pass below the card, after which the rib on the weighted roller will press the lower end of the elevator outward, so that when the elevator is being drawn up to the top of the case the projections gwill catch under the lower edge of the card and carry it up also.

On each side of the case B, I secure a pro jecting guide-rail, It, just in front of the eleatorguides, the lower ends of which extend down into the lower compartment and are pointed like a switch, so that when the elevator passes upward with its card, the card will pass in front of the guide-rail, while the elevator passes behind. it. This guide-rail carries thecard so that it will drop upontheshelf when the elevator has carried it high enough, the rear edge of the shelf being formed so as to catch it when the elevator starts to descend.

On the back of each card I secure thin narrow strips 5, which extend from its lower edge upward,and in thefront edge of the shelfD, I make a corresponding groove or cut, d so that the strips not only serve as guides for the falling card, but, being interposed between the lower ends of each of the cards on the shelf, keep the cards far enough apart to allow the plate j to pass up between the front card and the one directly behind it as they successively come to the front.

A roller, X, is mounted just in front of the shelf-edge, so as to keep the lower edge of the card on the lip i and facilitate the free movement of the card in falling when the lip is turned down. When the card falls into the lowercompartment its lower end will be guided positively, so that it is caught upon the levers E E, but its upper end is liable to stand erect, If this should happen the upper end of the card. would strike the shelf above when the elevator started to carry it upward. To prevent this I mount a shaft, K, across the front of the lower compartment, above the middle of the card, and attach a light projecting frame or striker, l, to it. One end of this shaft has an arm,m, secured to it, and this arm is connected by a rod, a, with one end of a walking-beam, 0, on the outside of the case. The opposite end of the walking-beam is connected by a rod,

71., with the arm D of the rod .0, that turns the blockfin front of the shelf, so that when the block is turned to drop a card the frame or striker l is thrown outward; but when the card drops upon the levers E E the block is turned so as to raise the lip 21 for the next card, and the same operation causes the striker to strike the-upper end of the card and force it back in position to move upward in rear of the shelf when it is drawn up by the elevator.

'The operation will then be as follows: The cards, several in number, are stood upon the shelf, one behind the other, with their advertisements outward. One card is thenplaced in the lower compartment, so that its. lower edge will rest upon the levers E E. This turns the lip '5 up, so that the front card on the shelf above will be supported by it. The front card in the upper compartment being now placed upon the lip, the clock is started. The lever M is then raised by each ratchet-tooth on the rim of the wheel It, and each time it is raised it pulls the spring-latch q upward and releases the wheel L, which makes a single rotation, carrying the loose pulley with it and raising the elevator. The elevator, as it moves upward, carries the card. from thelower compartment with it, and the instant the levers E E are relieved of the weight of this card the spring a, acting on the system of levers in connection with the weight. of the card on thelip t'above, raises the levers E E, and the card above drops down upon the levers E E, again setting the lip i for the next card. The elevator, as stated, carries the card from the lower compartment up behind the shelf in front of the guide-rail IL and deposits it on the shelf. The elevator then strikes the lever T, by which it is given an impetus downward just as the loose pulley N is freed from the wheel. L, and the elevator descends under the card which has just dropped from the shelf. The jar imparted to the shaft R by the elevator coming in contact with the lever Tjars the shelf D, so as to move the cards on the shelf forward, so that the front card drops over the front edge of the shelf on the lip 27, so as to take the place of the one that dropped into the lower compartment. This operation continues at intervals, which are regulated by the length of the ratchet-teeth on the Wheel, bringing the cards successively forward against tlie glass face, dropping the front card into the lower compartment and elevating one card from the lower to the upper compartment at each operation. Each card is thus brought in view in succession, and dropped out of sight, the whole operation being regulated, governed, and controlled by the clock-movement.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim,and desire to secure by Letters rear of the series by the automatic elevator before the next card is dropped or discharged an automatic elevator or carrier actuated at intervals to catch each card dropped or (lischarged from the shelf and raise and return it thereon to the rear of the set or series of cards, and mechanism combined and connected with said tilting shelf and elevator or carrier to cause them to work at regular intervals, whereby the first card ofthe set or series of cards held on the shelf is exposed to notice, then dropped down to expose the next succeeding card, and then caught and raised up to the shelf at the by the shelf, and all the cards of the series are thereby exposed for exhibition in rotation,

all combined and arranged to operate as s'peci- 2. In an automatic advertising apparatus,

the combination, with the tilting shelf or platform, of the card-supporting roller with its lip, the hinged o'r pivoted catch-actuated by the roller, and the" rock-shaft levers, connectingrod, and spring,substantially as described, for

' and permit it to makea revolution at intervals,

and the actuating-lever, ratchet-wheel. and connecting-rod combined therewith, and with a clock-work mechanism to cause the said clutch-Wheel to be operated intermittently at intervals of time, substantially as described, to operate as set forth.

4. In an automatic advertising apparatus,

thecombination, with the elevator or'earrier and its pulley or drum, of the spring-motor, its clutch-pulleythe stops, the holding and tripping catch, the vibrating latch, and the fixed stop on the drum, constitutiugthe means for raising the elevator,"and the spring lever or bar for throwing or impelling the elevator in a downward direction, substantially as described, to operate as set forth.

5. In an automatic advertising apparatus, the combination of the clutch-wheel fixed on the motor-shaft and having the vibrating holding andreleasing latch" with the loose pulley or drum, and its fixed stop adapted to be caught by and released from thesaid latch during the forward revolution of the clutchwheel, substantially as herein described, for

'the purpose set forth.

6. In an automatic advertisingapparatus, the combination, with the automatic elevator or carrier, of the guides, and the fixed switch for throwing oh" the cards, substantially-as described. 4

7. In an automatic advertising apparatus,

the combination, with the tilting shelf and its lipped roller, of the rock-shaft and its levers connected with said shelf, as described, for holding and operating the said roller by the weightof the card dropped down upon the levers, and the spring, all combined as and for. the purposes set forth.

8. In an automatic advertising apparatus, the combination, with the elevator or carrier,

with its inclined lower end or apron, having its ledges, of the guides, and the roller with its projection, constructed and applied to oper' ate as and't'or the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand andseal.

WILLIAM AKIN. [L. s.] In presence of' I EDWARD E. OsBORN,

J WM. F. CLARK. 

